New Delhi, Jan 18 (IANS): The Common Services Centers (CSC) has partnered with Sterlite Technologies Limited (STL) to train one lakh Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) for maintenance of the BharatNet, telecom infrastructure across the country, to strengthen availability of reliable internet to the citizens enabling their participation in digital governance and economy.

The training on wi-fi access points, Optical Fibre splicing and maintenance will be delivered online through the CSC Academy, the Education and CSR wing of CSC, the company statement said.

VLEs will be able to access the training content provided by STL in a self-paced mode and through live classes. The training will include hands-on component through trainers from STL at sites where CSC is providing Internet connectivity through BharatNet. Following the training, skill competency certificates will be provided to VLEs after an online assessment.

In July 2019, CSC was entrusted with the responsibility of Operation & Maintenance (O&M) of BharatNet Optical Fibre Cable, First Line Maintenance (FLM) of equipment and providing last mile connectivity through Wi-Fi. Since then, Fibre Restoration Teams comprising more than 10,000 rural youth have been trained and mobilized for the BharatNet maintenance in less than a year through CSC.

With the recent announcement by the Prime Minister to connect every village across the nation with optical fibre in the coming 1000 days, CSC is gearing up to provide Fibre to the Home (FTTH) broadband Internet connectivity to all villages.

"The training will ensure we have a pool of skilled VLEs ready to provide last-mile optical fiber connectivity across the country under BharatNetproject. This will also generate employment opportunities in rural India," Managing Director, CSC SPV, Dinesh Tyagi said.

Common Services Centers (CSCs) Scheme is one of key enablers of the Digital India program. CSCs are the access points for e-delivery of G2C, education, healthcare, agriculture and financial services to villages in India, thereby contributing to a digitally and financially inclusive society. CSCs are more than just service delivery points in rural India.